Read A Hole in the World for Free Online

more, she tugs on the girl’s wrist and the two of them break off at a run, through the doorway and down the passageway beyond. Bianca suspects it takes the troll a moment to realise what they’re doing and then, with an angry shout of rage that causes the whole cavern to rumble, he runs after them.
    ‘Run, run, run !’ Bianca squeaks, as they emerge into the junction room and almost stumble. They’re through the doorway before she thinks about it and turns around, skidding back to grab her coat.
    ‘Come on !’ the girl exclaims from the first cavern, sounding panicked.
    Bianca runs back and past the girl, who follows behind her, skirts gathered up in her hands.
    They stop at the opening and Bianca turns back to the girl, who has released her skirt and is looking confused. Instead of stopping to explain, Bianca just grabs her hand, moves a few steps back and takes a flying leap through the hole, dragging the squealing girl along behind her.
    *
    They fall out of the hole together and Bianca, braced for the fall from the wall, releases the girl’s hand and hits the ground at a roll, landing on her coat. The girl, meanwhile, drops to the pavement with an ungainly thump and a crack of her shoulder hitting the ground.
    ‘Are you okay?’ Bianca asks, immediately rushing over to her, pulling her coat onto her arms to keep from having to carry it.
    ‘I hurt.’ The girl’s dress is torn in a couple of places from the jagged rock and the shoulder strap has broken in two. There’s a bruise developing on her shoulder and she touches it, gingerly, as she says, ‘Mm... It hurts,’ as though it’s an entirely new experience.
    Bianca has a horrible feeling it is.
    ‘I’m sorry,’ she says, as apologetically as she is able having just saved her from a troll . She offers the girl a hand and helps her to her feet, noticing, idly, that the hat didn’t even move when she fell. ‘I should have warned you that there would be a drop.’ She eyes the girl, who seems lost and out of place, and pushes the trailing silk of her hat’s train from her face when the wind catches it. The girl looks suspiciously like she’s about to go on about princes again, so Bianca turns away and looks around.
    ‘It’s morning,’ she says, in surprise. ‘But... I’m sure I wasn’t gone that long.’ Deciding to just add that to the list of weird things that happened to her today, she turns to the girl, who is gazing at her, and says, ‘Do you even have a name?’ She prays to whatever deity will listen that the girl doesn’t say no.
    ‘Alexandra,’ the girl says, with an unbelievably radiant smile spreading across her face. ‘I am Princess Alexandra of Calpaea.’
    ‘What.’ Bianca stares at her long and hard for a long moment. ‘Seriously?’ she says, reconsidering a repeat of ‘What.’ ‘You’re... a princess ?’
    ‘Yes.’ Alexandra gives her another beaming smile, which is awfully infectious. Bianca finds herself fighting not to smile back until Alexandra says, ‘And you are my Prince Charming!’
    ‘No. No. No , I am not .’ Bianca glares at her, but even that is met with a smile. ‘I’m just a helpful citizen who did the completely crazy thing of saving you!’ She smacks the princess on the unharmed shoulder and turns away, stalking across the street towards her home.
    ‘Await me, my prince!’ Alexandra shouts, running towards her, dress gathered up in her hands, heels clicking against the tarmac. ‘You must bring me to your kingdom for our wedding!’
    Bianca suspects if she was in a cartoon there would be the sound of screeching tires, she stops and turns around to stare at the girl. ‘I’m not your prince. I don’t even have a kingdom! I don’t even have a bank account yet!’ she exclaims. ‘And, oh, god ...’ She stares at Alexandra. ‘You stick out like a sore thumb in that dress.’
    ‘Like a what?’ Alexandra asks, innocently, which lends credence to the notion that she’s never felt pain